Dubai: Saudi Arabia has launched an ambitious initiative to plant 10 billion trees, marking a significant step towards meeting its environmental objectives.
The detailed roadmap for the endeavor was unveiled on Monday, under the directives of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad Bin Salman, chairman of the Higher Committee for the Saudi Green Initiative.
The comprehensive initiative, announced at the second annual MENA Climate Week held in Riyadh from October 8 to 12, aims to tackle environmental challenges while improving the quality of life for residents, bringing forth long-term economic and social advantages.
The roadmap lays out strategic planting plans across various habitat zones in Saudi Arabia, focusing on maximising potential vegetation cover.
It pays special attention to urban areas, highways and green belts to ensure that the tree planting will offer essential ecosystem services for the health and well-being of residents, especially in cities.
With the planting of more trees and green spaces, city centres are expected to enjoy improved air quality and a reduction in temperatures by at least 2.2℃. This initiative addresses critical environmental concerns, such as extreme heat and air pollution.
As the tree-planting initiative unfolds, it will generate employment opportunities in various fields, ranging from tree growing and seed collection to landscape maintenance, urban water reuse network development, and the creation of parks and protected areas. Additionally, the initiative will support the development of innovative sustainability solutions.
Saudi Arabia’s commitment to planting 10 billion trees, despite its challenging natural conditions like low rainfall and limited arable land, is one of the most ambitious of its kind worldwide.
The initiative has set a revised target to rehabilitate 74.8 million hectares of land, contributing to 1 per cent of the global greening target and 20 per cent of the Middle East Green Initiative’s goal to plant 50 billion trees across the region.
This announcement follows the successful planting of 41 million trees in Saudi Arabia between 2017 and 2023. The roadmap is based on a two-year feasibility study carried out by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) and the National Center for Vegetation Devel-opment and Combating Desertification (NCVC), in partnership with global and local experts.
The study focused on making the 10 billion tree target achievable and sustainable by selecting tree and shrub varieties that are native and well-adapted to Saudi Arabia’s unique environmental conditions, and by implementing sustainable irrigation methods.
The initiative will be rolled out in two phases. The first phase, running from 2024 to 2030, will centre on the environmental domain using a nature-based approach.
The second phase, starting in 2030, will employ a broader approach with increased human intervention.
Saudi Arabia, home to over 2,000 flora species across different habitat zones, aims to plant over 600 million trees by 2030 and rehabilitate 3.8 million hectares of land.
